Emotions Laid Bare
by a mountain of gideon's scones
Summary: *bite club spoilers* Amelie's POV about the time before the fencing, during it, and then unusual events after it xD R&R!


**So, yes, **_**another**_** bite club fic from me… I just have sooo many ideas but some of them people have probably thought of, so I want to get them posted without then thinking that it has been stolen or whatever.**

**The wonderful, amazing, Rachel Caine owns everything… I, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, which is rather depressing, to be honest.**

**Obviously, **bite club spoilers** - just so you are ALL entirely aware XD**

**I **_**would**_** put quotes in from the book, but my sister has already nicked the book from me… just because I read it in less than 2 hours doesn't mean (and not just skim reading) **_**doesn't mean I don't want it!**_

_Amelie's POV:_

"I challenge you to a duel," I say, my eyebrows raised as I challenge Oliver to decline my offer whilst my hands are pressed together in front of me. He smiles as wide as you would ever see Oliver smile and nods, evidently keen for this to happen.

"I thought you would never ask, it's been, oh, a year since we last did this?" he responds, thinking back to the last time I challenged him. It must have been not long before _he_ came to town and destroyed everything… but certainly not after that. "After all, if the humans are now being able to enjoy such martial arts, I believe it is high time we, ourselves, practised them," he continues, but I roll my eyes. He is such a boaster, and I cannot be doing with it. All I want is to be able to refine my hand-to-hand combat skills, on the off chance that I am confronted with my father solitary, so I know I can destroy him…

"I don't want to listen to your ramblings about how humans can do this; I want to fence," I state simply, standing up and heading for the room in the back of the office building in which I stand, in order to fetch my fencing equipment. He stands shock still, not moving to follow me even though his is in here also. "Honestly, Oliver, are we going to fence _this_ century? If so, please follow me and collect your equipment," I call over my shoulder, feeling the most relaxed in a good few months. I was _beginning_ to relax when Gloriana came to town, and since then my father has escaped so I have been on tenterhooks for rather a while. It is nice to be able to have the chance to let my hair down – figuratively speaking, of course, since loose hair would only be a distraction in fencing – and yet still be preparing for the final battle which _must_ occur, and soon.

He makes haste to follow me, ensuring he stays a respectable distance behind me as I enter the room. The walls are adorned with various fighting equipment but in the far corner is the apparatus – including outfit – for fencing. "You may get changed in the other room, Oliver," I say to him, handing over his white outfit, complete with mask. He bows deeply, yet not sarcastically, and retreats out of the room without a word.

Oh, what a relief it is, to know that I am going to be able to fence in such a short period of time! I slip off the pale yellow wrap dress I was wearing and slide on the loose white trousers before suiting up with the rest of the clothing. I leave the mask off, holding it under my arm as I step out from behind the curtain and walking into the hallway. Oliver already waits, his eyebrows rising slightly at my appearance, something which I find rather irritating… yet I shall not dwell on this point, but rather move on and head for the salle at the gymnasium.

"What about the swords?" Oliver calls after me, evidently confused.

"We are not fighting in my home today, Oliver, but rather at the gym – you know, the place where such arts are _supposed_ to be practised!" I speak in a normal tone voice, knowing that he is perfectly adequate to hear, even over one hundred metres away. So he scurries after me and we walk through the portal together, almost touching but not quite.

I expect the room to be empty, as very few humans in this town practise fencing, but Eve Rosser and Claire are already in here. Of course, Claire _has_ to find a way to be able to get involved in every possible danger in town – and Eve has been fencing since high school. She is rather good, but the way in which Oliver is clapping her impeccable aim sounds almost sarcastic, mocking of her abilities.

I send a frown at him, which he notices but ignores, before I set my expression to its usual appearance before talking to Eve. She, idiotically, riles Oliver who, as per usual, _must_ defend himself - even against a teenaged girl! He is so self conscious, so egocentric, that it is almost unreal… but that is not the point. She shouldn't have called him 'Ollie' but I _do_ admit; it has a certain ring to it.

I give the call to fight as Claire moves to stand by me, but I ignore her and simply focus on the duel. Oliver wins, of course, and cannot help but gloat already – surely he must realise that he is so much older and more experienced than Eve, so obviously will win?

She seems to want to go again, so as they separate; I give the direction to start once more. Then I smile as I watch the events unfold: Eve feints Oliver before _actually managing to make contact with him_! That is truly remarkable – never, in hundreds of years, have I seen a human actually touch Oliver in a duel.

Oliver, of course, is fuming that he hasn't won, so stalks away to start once again – but this isn't a good idea. He is too wound up to play nice, too focused on winning rather than remembering that Eve is, in fact, human and cannot face his full strength.

I suggest that they stop, that they do not need to do this, but he is adamant. I can see it in the way he is holding his head, the way that he is entirely relentless in fighting Eve, to prove he is better than her. So I start the fight, knowing internally that this was the wrong decision, that she will be hurt.

"Oliver!" I snap, as he attacks the girl so hard that she falls off the piste, and I worry that he could have broken her ribs. Simply because he was _so_ adamant to prove that he is so hard, so tough, so utterly perfect, he could have destroyed her – he could have _killed_ her, simply to prove a point.

He vehemently defends himself, but I order him to help her, something which he ignores. Then he speaks to me, and the way he does – saying my dress is 'attractive' – shows his feelings for me… he loves me. That is something I would _much_ prefer not to admit, but I know that it is the truth and that it needs to be addressed sooner or later. However, it would be preferable if it were later – I want to fight now, and to get this out of my mind…

I take two swords from him, and he takes two for himself, and we begin to duel, not bothering with the helmets – we cannot hurt each other… well, if we _wanted_ to, we could, but I doubt that his feelings (and, I hate to admit it, my own also for him) would permit him to kill me.

So we duel – without rules; there are enough of them in Morganville – and I take mortal hit after mortal hit, as he does also. I cannot trust him to keep score – he cheats – so I do, knowing that it is close but he _just_ has the edge… I notice how, as I did in the past, I favour attacking with my right hand, which means he has the advantage from attacking on the other side of me – yet I manage to hold my own. I grow tired of this game after a few minutes, and tap the floor three times with my épée in order to signal the end of the duel.

He seems surprised I am finished so quickly, but I smile slightly and he relaxes.

"Thirty two mortal hits for you, thirty one for me," I give over the statistics, ignoring the two humans who remain here – I have no need to speak to them. Claire is not always useful to me – at times, she is more of a hindrance – but to address her to leave would mean having to look away from Oliver, someone who has suddenly captivated my interest much more than before.

He gives me a smile, a truly real one, which I reciprocate, meaning we just stare at each other. I cannot feel time passing, but it must be, especially when he turns away to order Claire and Eve away, which they seem to do with pleasure. Yet I do not leave, especially when his gaze returns to me, holding me hostage.

All thoughts other than Oliver drift out of my head then, leaving only the knowledge I have had for so long but denied for even longer in it. The knowledge that, well, I _love_ him… it isn't something I have decided to accept lightly – not at all – but it is the truth, and I cannot help but feel it.

"So, any particular plans now?" Oliver speaks to break the increasing tension between us, and I am thankful. I fear that if it had been silent for much longer, I would have snapped and began to ramble, going on about how much I love him, and ending up making a huge fool of myself.

"Simply to return to my offices and to change back to normal attire," I sigh, setting the weapons back on the stand before walking back towards the portal. He smiles before following me through it and back to my offices, heading down the corridor back to the end where the martial arts equipment is kept. "I shall see you in a moment," I say before leaving him at the door and entering the room. I slip behind the screen, removing the fencing clothes worn for such a short time, and hang them back on the peg next to the screen – I had the forward thinking to store the clothes which I wear the most in here next to the area where I change in and out of them, so it is easier.

Yet the short amount of time I am already craving Oliver's attention: recently, I have been unable to go long periods of time without being in his company, having his inevitable eyes upon me. I pull the dress up before wondering whether or not I could _really_ be this forward, and suggest something so openly. Can I? I mean, it isn't me, but I am _fed up_ of being some sane, careful, controlled vampire – my true state was nothing like that before I set up Morganville, deciding then that the ruler ought to be controlled and prim.

"Oliver, could you come and assist me here, please?" I call through, deciding to just go with it and do this. Wind appearing indicates just how fast he is coming through; he is so eager to be here that he has foregone his shirt to be with me.

"Yes, Amelie?" he whispers into my ear, my bare back facing him.

"Would you mind awfully zipping this up?" I indicate the dress, pushing my back out to him to proffer the zip. I hear the sharp intake of his breath before he nods, and takes ahold of the bottom of the zip. He hesitates, his fingers brushing over the bareness of my skin and I let slip a slight moan of delight, that he is touching me.

Slowly, deliberately so, he zips the zip up, hiding more and more of me with every inch. Finally, the zip hits the top and I feel a release of tension in the room that built up without me noticing as he touched me. "All done," he whispers unnecessarily into my ear, very carefully slipping his hands down me to my waist.

Normally, I would have pushed him away and threatened his life, but not today. Instead, I turn around cautiously and look up to meet his eyes, my hands still by my sides.

"I cannot believe I am doing this," I whisper, moving closer and closer to him until my hips bump into him. The breath locks in his throat as he slowly, with deliberation to give me the chance to stop at any time, lowers his head to my own. I make the final move, pressing my lips to his gently, the emotions sparked shocking me.

I wrap my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to me as everything but Oliver is entirely blocked from my mind. This continues for a long while until I hear a knock at the door, interrupting me entirely. It brings me back to consciousness entirely, pulling away from Oliver to see who is interrupting me. I attempt to regulate my breathing back to normality, try to hide the blush in my cheeks, as I see my assistant, Bizzie, standing there.

"Ma'am, there has been an incident at the university," she says, sounding apologetic to interrupt. "I was ordered to inform you instantly. A student named Doug has been murdered and the suspect, Jason Rosser, has been captured by the police. They require your assistance in deciding what to do," she continues, and I pull entirely away from Oliver, who seems unable to move.

"Inform Mayor Morrell that I shall be there shortly," I say sharply and she turns away, zooming down the hall away to leave us alone.

It looks as if my moment of pleasure, the moment in which my life changed forever - again, is over, in exchange for the grim reality of Morganville. The rainbow tinted moment with Oliver has ended and I am back to the normality which is my town, the thing I fought this man so hard for.

"I shall see you later," I say to him slowly before sweeping from the room without another word…

**So, tell me your thoughts!**

**I'd love reviews!**

**Vicky xx**


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